Tom Hughes
Player Valuation: £10m
Years ago it was much more simple. If the team didn't perform the gates dropped off, if they continued to fail they dropped off dramatically. There would only be a few thousand season ticket holders then, so less people felt obliged to go, when dissatisfied. The club saw the response, it hit them hard in the pocket and changes were made to rectify it. We were a bigger club in relative terms and mostly could compete financially with all our peers. Now TV money dominates, and footy is booming with full grounds everywhere. More people have had to buy season tickets to guarantee their seats. Even mediocrity pays handsomely, and we chose that throughout decades of managed decline, where our relative wealth and status only fell. When all others around you improve Mediocrity soon gives way to survival. A few clubs set their standards much higher and have become the elite. Some of those were johnny-come-latelys, bankrolled by rich benefactors, but they've all now grown considerably. By comparison we have become a nothing club.... protest should've happened during that process. Until, the new stadium is operational, our only remaining asset of any real value is our (aging) fanbase. Unfortunately, I think we will have play our part again. We look almost as frail as ever. Not sure where the required unity is going to come from though.